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Cobalamin C (Cbl-C) defect causes methylmalonic acidemia, homocystinuria, intellectual disability and visual impairment, despite treatment adherence. While international guidelines recommend parenteral hydroxocobalamin (OH-Cbl) as effective treatment, dose adjustments remain unclear. We assessed OH-Cbl therapy impact on biochemical, neurocognitive and visual outcomes in early-onset Cbl-C patients treated with different OH-Cbl doses over 3 years. Group A (n = 5), diagnosed via newborn screening (NBS), received high-dose OH-Cbl (median 0.55 mg/kg/day); Group B1 (n = 3), NBS-diagnosed, received low-dose OH-Cbl (median 0.09 mg/kg/day); Group B2 (n = 12), diagnosed on clinical bases, received low-dose OH-Cbl (median 0.06 mg/kg/day). Biochemical analyses revealed better values of homocysteine, methionine and methylmalonic acid in Group A compared to Group B1 (p < 0.01, p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively) and B2 (p < 0.001, p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively). Neurodevelopmental assessment showed better outcome in Group A compared to low-dose treated Groups B1 and B2, especially in Developmental Quotient, Hearing and Speech and Performance subscales without significant differences between Group B2 and Group B1. Maculopathy was detected in 100%, 66% and 83% of patients in the three groups, respectively. This study showed that "high-dose" OH-Cbl treatment in NBS-diagnosed children with severe early-onset Cbl-C defect led to a significant improvement in the metabolic profile and in neurocognitive outcome, compared to age-matched patients treated with a "low-dose" regimen. Effects on maculopathy seem unaffected by OH-Cbl dosage. Our findings, although observed in a limited number of patients, may contribute to improve the long-term outcome of Cbl-C patients., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of SSIEM.)

Purpose: This cross-sectional monocentric study aims to utilize the Early Childhood Attention Battery to investigate early attention patterns in young preterm children and ascertain the extent to which their attentional abilities diverge from those of term peers., Methods: Inclusion criteria encompassed gestational age < 34 weeks, with assessments conducted between 3 and 5 years 11 months. Exclusion criteria included major brain lesions, significant motor or behavioral disorders, and intellectual functioning with IQ < 70. Preterm raw scores converted to scaled scores and percentiles. Frequency analysis compared preterm scores to norms. Non-parametric tests assessed significance between scaled scores and subgroups (age, gestational age, sex, birth weight)., Results: One hundred nineteen preterm patients were enrolled in the study between November 2016 and June 2023. Comparisons with published norms showed lower mean scores across all subtests and domains for preterm children. A notable proportion of assessments (13-40%) fell below the 5th percentile, with the dual task item in sustained attention being the highest (40%). Sex did not predict differences, except for auditory sustained and visual search subtests. Gestational age did not correlate with abnormal scores, consistent with previous studies. The prevalence of assessments below the 5th percentile highlights preterm children's vulnerability to attention issues. The test's sensitivity to attention deficits in preterm populations suggests its potential in identifying at-risk children early for tailored interventions., Conclusions: The battery effectively detects attentional deficits in preterm children. Early detection and targeted insights support tailored educational interventions. By focusing on specific attention skills, the battery guides clinicians in choosing individualized or group activities based on areas most affected., What Is Known: • Attention is often impaired in preterm children but it is not systematically investigated before school age. The ECAB is a tool specifically designed for preschool children., What Is New: • Using the ECAB we evidenced a different level of attention between pre-term and term-born children at preschool age., Competing Interests: Declarations Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Human milk banks (HMBs), established in the early 20th century, aimed to provide safe breast milk for infants with challenges obtaining it. The spread of infections since the 1980s resulted in strict regulations and screening in HMBs, to ensure the safety of donated milk. Several social and personal factors discourage mothers from practicing breastfeeding, making donated milk a viable alternative because of its protective and immunity-enhancing properties. However, psychological barriers can affect the decision to donate or receive donated milk. To identify psychological factors related to donating and receiving human milk from HMBs, we searched PubMed to identify studies reporting psychological factors in donating and receiving milk and excluding studies not reporting psychological factors. The search identified 28 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. Eligible studies from various countries spanned from 1995 to 2023 and focused on psychological factors influencing milk donation and receiving. Most studies were descriptive-qualitative. Factors facilitating or hindering milk donation and reception included perceptions, psychological aspects, and previous experiences. Positive factors for donors included the desire to help other mothers, support from health care professionals, and personal well-being. Negative factors included breast milk exclusivity and discomfort caused by health checks. For recipients, awareness of donated milk benefits was a positive factor, whereas fear regarding safety was negative. The altruistic motivation to help other mothers drove many women to donate. Proper awareness and support from health care professionals and families can help women understand the value of milk donation and support their personal and identity reintegration, especially in cases of the loss of a child., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest All authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background and Objectives : Preterm infants are at higher risk of neurodevelopmental impairment both at preschool and school ages, even in the absence of major neurological deficits. The early identification of children at risk is essential for early intervention with rehabilitation to optimize potential outcomes during school years. The aim of our study is to assess cognitive outcomes at preschool age in a cohort of low-risk very preterm infants, previously studied at 12 and 24 months using the Griffiths scales. Materials and Methods : Sixty-six low-risk very preterm infants born at a gestational age of <32 weeks were assessed at 12 and 24 months corrected age using the Griffiths Mental Development Scales (second edition) and at preschool age with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence (third edition) (WPPSI-III). Results : At 12 and 24 months and at preschool age, low-risk very preterm infants showed scores within normal ranges with similar scores in males and females. A statistically significant correlation was observed in the general developmental quotient between 12 and 24 months; a further significant correlation was observed between the early cognitive assessments and those performed at preschool age, with a better correlation using the assessments at 24 months. Conclusion : The present study showed a favourable trajectory of cognitive development in low-risk very preterm infants, from 12 months to preschool age.

The emergency created by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has inevitably changed human normal social and relational habits. The use of personal protective equipment, like surgical masks, by healthcare workers has been recommended to prevent human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus infection. However, the use of these masks could cause slight to considerable and reproducible changes in the infant's attitude towards the operator and health taker during routine clinical assessments. We reported a brief report on the impact of to the use of the surgical masks on the affective behaviour in 40 infants of age 2-9 months (study group) by using a scale to assess pain and distress among pediatric patients, the Face, Legs, Activity Cry and Consolability Scale (FLACC), and in 40 infants with the same ages and characteristics assessed before the COVID-19 pandemia onset (control group). Thirty-seven of the 40 infants in the study group had some signs of discomfort and appeared irritable and less prone to be engaged by the examiner with a different pattern of responses related to age with better responses for younger infants. These infants reported higher significant scores (p < 0.001) in the FLACC scale than those assessed before the COVID-19 onset. Infants appear to react negatively to the use of the surgical mask by the health operator. A different way to assess paediatric patients in early infancy with longitudinal studies should be proposed., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2021 The Authors.)

Background: The Early Childhood Attention Battery (ECAB) has been used to assess three different components of attention in preschool children, namely, selective, sustained and attentional control., Aim: The aim of the study was: I) to adapt the ECAB to the Italian language; II) to collect Italian reference data using the translated version and III) to expand the available reference data using 6-month age intervals., Study Design: The adaptation of the ECAB to Italian language and the collection of Italian reference data was performed in four phases: translation and identification of the manual and subtests that needed adaptation; interobserver reliability and feasibility of the Italian version; application of the Italian ECAB; statistical analysis., Subjects: The ECAB was performed on a low risk population between 3 and 5 years, 11 months., Results: Statistical analysis was conducted subdividing the cohort in 6-month age groups. The final cohort included 300 low-risk typically developing children. The assessment was well accepted and enjoyed by most of the children except for some in the youngest group who refused to complete all of the tests. Our data showed a progressive improvement in attention across age in seven of the eight subtests of the ECAB., Conclusion: The ECAB is a feasible battery in Italian as in the English version, for the assessment of early attention in preschool children, allowing the assessment of the different components of attention and a specific maturation follow up with increasing age., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Neurodevelopmental and cognitive difficulties are known to occur frequently in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy but so far none of the published studies have reported both early neurodevelopmental assessments and cognitive tests in the same cohort. The aim of the present longitudinal study was to establish the correlation between early neurodevelopmental assessments performed in preschool boys and the cognitive scales performed at school age or later., Methods: We performed cognitive tests at school age (mean age 5.7 year ±1.7 SD) (69 months+19 SD) in a cohort of Duchenne boys, previously assessed using the Griffiths scales before the age of 4 years (mean age when the Griffiths scales were performed 30 months ±8.9 SD)., Results: The range of total Developmental quotients on the Griffiths ranged between 56 and 116 (mean 89 ± 15.6 SD). The total Intelligence Quotients on the Wechsler scales ranged between 35 and 119 (mean 87 ± 17.2 SD). There was a significant correlation between the findings on the two scales. P = <0.0001. When we subdivided the cohort according to site of mutations, there was a difference between boys with mutations upstream exon 44 and those with mutations in exon 44-45 affecting Dp140 on both Developmental and Intelligence Quotient (p 0.01 and p 0,003 respectively)., Conclusions: Our results confirm that Duchenne boys tend to slightly underperform on both neurodevelopmental and cognitive assessments. Early neurodevelopmental findings correlated with the cognitive results obtained at school age with a clear concordance between subscales exploring similar domains on the two scales.